Observation Slave - webDiplomacy

anlari, AnimalsCS, TheFlyingBoat, dagabs0, Erdmundr, Soulack, Theoneandonly

30 Aug 20 UTC	Spring, 1910: GameMaster: Game was extended due to at least 1 member failing to enter orders and having an excused missed turn available. This has un-readied all orders.
07 Sep 20 UTC	Autumn, 1912: Moderator: (gimix): Game has been paused for one week on request of a player. If anyone wants to object please email us at webdipmod@gmail.com
15 Sep 20 UTC	Autumn, 1912: Moderator: (gimix): Game unpaused. Good luck
25 Sep 20 UTC	Good game folks. A very interesting one, with Russia choosing to play like a living incarnation of Peter the Great with so many fleets built. I am interested how they felt about their solo chances, as that worried me through most of the game. In the endgame, my tactics weren't up to the rest of my play, so I'll have something to learn from in the future.
25 Sep 20 UTC	Good game all. For a public game I must say I am surprised by the number of familiar faces. Unsurprising now that I look back on it. I regret my 1902 decision to go to Venice. It was a stupid decision and I am not sure what I was thinking. Should have pulled back to Tuscany. If I had done so do you think you accept the Russian overture? Or do you continue the A/I?
25 Sep 20 UTC	Very fun game. Well played Germany (and everyone else of course)!
25 Sep 20 UTC	I haven't played enough games to really get a sense for the long term solo chances within an A/I versus drawishness, but I knew beforehand that swordsman/BrotherBored had two solos as Austria by means of quick attacks on Italy when Russia is either friendly or not in a position to seriously harm Austria, and Turkey has been weakened, so that was always in the back of my mind. That being said, I would be less likely to attack an ally that takes precautions, so perhaps just playing things a season slower (Turkey can't do much about it with fleets out of position) could have made a difference (or building A Rom in 1902).
25 Sep 20 UTC	Thx France. That was a fun match - it was intriguing to see the hokey-pokey that Austria & Russia were playing during the mid-game.
25 Sep 20 UTC	Germany, can I ask what drove you to ally with Fra rather than Eng? Was that always the end, or did my moves push you in that direction?
25 Sep 20 UTC	Germany did a great job in allying with me – they made all the progress while I just sat there! I think the better question is why I didn't give up the attack on you and start attacking Germany. To answer that, I say that I've not played too much gunboat and with hindsight I probably should have done so.
25 Sep 20 UTC	I had a very similar experience to France in this game: http://webdiplomacy.net/board.php?gameID=305113#gamePanel My conclusion from games like these is that France probably needs to pick a better target than Liverpool for their sixth center when England is under siege by G/R.
25 Sep 20 UTC	It's tricky. Fra wont go far in a contest for Eng without convoying some armies - NS makes a much better highway than the west coast - but at the same time can't afford to have less than 3 armies in the Burgundy line with the German armies lined up.
25 Sep 20 UTC	Yeah in general I really dislike attacking Italy early as France but with Germany having 3 fleets, I may have done better if I had attacked Italy Spring 03.
25 Sep 20 UTC	Not sure. Those fleets were coming your way sooner or later :)
25 Sep 20 UTC	You're correct England. As G, I generally attempt to ally with both E & F and see which one sticks. Often, they end up quickly attacking each other, which usually makes it easy to eliminate both.
25 Sep 20 UTC	So what was the rationale for going after Eng first? Not trying to say it was the wrong move, just want to understand the dynamics, and what if anything I could have done differently. Still trying to figure out how to play early game Eng in gunboat.
25 Sep 20 UTC	Pretty sure Germany had no choice but to eliminate you before eliminating me in this game.
25 Sep 20 UTC	Eh? Ger-Eng alliances taking on Fra are quite common.
25 Sep 20 UTC	Sure but you were committed entirely in the Baltics and I had three armies. If Germany tried working with you, then they had essentially no growth potential (since attacking Russia would not have worked out either).
26 Sep 20 UTC	GG guys, well played Austria and Germany. You succeesfully prevented me from soloing. Nevertheless it has been a great game and a lot of fun to work with both of you.